Our most important meal of the day has come under scrutiny by America’s Breakfast Council (ABC), which states Americans have raised a generation that either skips eating breakfast altogether, or doesn’t consume the right stuff when they do eat in the morning.

As debate continues on the obesity epidemic in the U.S., most need not look further than the breakfast table to regulate their weight. “People who eat a well-balanced breakfast tend to have more nutritious diets than those who skip breakfast regularly,” says Liz Weiss, a registered dietitian and ABC member. “Breakfast eaters typically consume foods higher in fiber, vitamins and minerals and tend to avoid foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol.”

According to a national ABC survey, which included more than 600 participants, young adults are even more likely to skip breakfast than their older counterparts – an alarming revelation that came under review by health professionals at the recent 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly.

Yet even among the 96 percent of adults surveyed who believe that consuming a nutritious breakfast is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, their behavior demonstrates otherwise. One-third of Americans choose not to eat breakfast every morning, the study showed. Barely 25 percent said they eat breakfast only three out of five weekdays. And while Americans exhibit a better record on the weekends, more than one out of four surveyed claim they don’t bother with breakfast on the weekends either.

The reasons for skipping breakfast or eating on the fly were also addressed in the study. Almost 47 percent of the participants said they skip the meal because they do not have enough time, or feel that it is too inconvenient.

“Unfortunately, breakfast is becoming something that Americans do in between important things, rather than something that alone merits importance,” adds Weiss. “They need to realize that a healthy breakfast is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle.”

According to other spokespeople at the ABC, which is comprised of health and nutrition experts from all over the country, Americans benefit both physically and mentally when they consume proteins, whole grains and fruit juice in the morning. A daily well-rounded breakfast diminishes the risk of obesity as well as type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And in previous studies, breakfast consumption has been shown to improve academic grades among kids while showing greater improvements in measures of depression, anxiety and hyperactivity.

Weiss points out the “ABCs” for making quick, easy changes that can break the cycle of poor breakfast habits:

Assess your breakfast habits to determine which adjustments you can make to squeeze it into your morning schedule

Balance the foods you stock at home with healthy breakfast options; i.e., whole grain cereal, 100-percent orange juice, whole-wheat bread, peanut butter and low-fat yogurt.

Commit to eating breakfast everyday, even when on the go.

Lastly, the council urges that those who skip breakfast are more than four times as likely to be obese compared to individuals who eat breakfast on a regular basis.

Drinking 100-percent orange juice every day helps support a healthy immune system and provides a natural source of energy. Its nutritional properties are unmatchable on many levels. In terms of Vitamin C, for example, it takes 50 glasses of apple juice to equal the Vitamin C found in an 8-ounce glass of orange juice, which provides you with 120 percent of the daily value. By the same comparison, it takes 7.5 glasses of grape juice to live up to the 15 percent folate contained in orange juice. And in terms of potassium, you’ll need nine glasses of cranberry juice to get the 470 milligrams that orange juice supplies.